The Legend of Zelda: Voyage Through Time
by Baxter Caldwell
Summary: The year is 2145. An assassination attempt has left the King of Hyrule laying on his deathbed. The antidote to the poison coursing through the king's veins can only be made from a flower that had died out in Hyrule's medieval times. All hope is lost, except for a ridiculous plan that the princess has proposed. To save the King, a voyage must be taken. A voyage through time.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

"Who sent you?"

Silence was the only response she received.

"I will only ask one more time." The woman placed her arms on the table in front of her as she leaned closer to the man on the other side. "Who sent you?"

"I used to be quite the snake hunter you know." The man stated. The woman was caught off guard by the man's tangential comeback. He took this as a sign to continue. "I could spot a rattler in the sands of gerudo desert, take on the cottonmouths in the deku swamps, and even avoid the tackling of a rope." He said with an almost reminiscent smirk.

"If you won't talk then there's no reason to bother." The woman turned to leave the interrogation.

Seeing his opportunity fleeing before his eyes, the man hurriedly made his point. "What I'm trying to get at here, is that I can spot any kind of snake in any kind of place. Even the royal council." This last sentence got the woman to pause in her step, and the man knew he had her attention once more.

"Go on." The woman said as she turned her head to glare at him.

"A pardon. A ship. 200 Rupees." The man declared. "If I get all of this, then you'll have one less snake to deal with."

The woman scoffed at his proposal. "You're dreaming."

The man confidently placed his hands behind his head and responded, "Then I guess your little princess will be sitting right next to her father real soon."

The woman grabbed the man by his collar and pulled him in close. "Is that a threat you're making?"

"I'm not the one making it." The man replied. "But meet my price and I'll tell you who is."

* * *

"Did you get anything out of Byrne Ma'am?" The guard standing outside of the room asked upon her exit.

"I want a warrant out for the arrest of Chancellor Cole. Now." She said simply, not even making eye contact with him as she hurried by. "And set aside a ship and 200 rupees." She heard a distant "Aye ma'am" as she hurried down the corridor of the building. Managing to get outside, she was greeted with a street level view of Castleton, capital city of Hyrule. She made her way to the car that had carried her here, a limousine used exclusively to carry royal bodyguards. Despite the increasing availability of hovering technology to the masses, the King had insisted that royal vehicles steer clear of such blatant displays of opulency. He was truly a humble man.

All the more reason that this current predicament was so tragic.

Within minutes she was at Castleton Central Hospital. A few more, and she stood before the pair of guards in front of the hospital room doors. To be asked for her ID when it was so blatantly obvious who she was annoyed her, but a quick flash of the badge later and she was inside the room.

King Harkinian lay on a hospital bed. His face was weary, his breaths were ragged, and wires of all kinds ran up the length of his arm to connect him to the variety of medical machines at his bedside. But those weren't the only things by the King's side. A teenage girl with golden blonde hair sat there as well. She had fallen asleep in that position, and even with the bags beneath her eyes denoting her exhaustion, she kept her hand firmly grasping the king's. The show of love brought a melancholy smile to the woman's face as she walked over to the girl to wake her up.

"Come on Zelda, you need your rest." The woman said as she shook the younger girl's shoulders.

The girl came to, and awareness of her surroundings soon followed. "I...Impa?" She asked.

"Yes your highness." The older woman responded.

"I-I don't want to leave his side Impa." Zelda stated with exhaustion lacing her voice.

Impa tightened her grasp on Zelda's shoulder. "I know, your highness. But when is the last time that you have eaten proper food or slept in a proper bed?"

Zelda looked back to her father. "Since he was admitted." She stated simply.

"I'd think he'd want to wake up to a healthy daughter. Wouldn't you, your highness?" Impa asked.

Zelda's subsequent sigh of defeat quickly turned to a yawn, denoting just how little energy she had to argue with Impa on the matter. A kiss of her father's hand later, and Zelda made to leave the room. Before she could reach the door however, a doctor came in through it. He almost bumped into her as he entered.

"Oh!" He exclaimed. "I'm terribly sorry your highness. I just heard that Lady Impa had come in an-"

"That is enough." The woman herself cut the doctor off. She then turned to Zelda. "Go now your highness. I shall catch up within a short time."

Sensing that the doctor came with information of her father's condition, Zelda protested. "Impa, whatever news he has for you I deserve to hear as well."

"Zelda. You must rest for now. I'll relay the details to you when you aren't on the verge of collapsing." Impa sternly declared, the use of her actual name making it clear to Zelda that she would not have her way here. With a sigh, the girl exited the room and closed the door behind her.

Impa's eyes flickered with a downtrodden look for a second. First she had to guilt Zelda with her father, and now she reprimands her for simply wanting to know his condition. She closed her eyes, taking a moment to remind herself that this was all for the better, before talking with the doctor. "What is it?"

"It's Likelike poison." The doctor explained. "That assassin sliced deep enough that the poison in his system will kill him unless an antidote is administered within two days."

"Tell me you have the antidote." The head bodyguard glared at the sudden bad news.

The doctor's shoulders visibly sagged at the request. "That's the thing. Our studies show that the major ingredient in the antidote is the Exotic Flower."

"So?" Impa inquired, incredulous as to how a simple plant stood in their way.

"That flower died off back in the ancient days of Hyrule Ma'am." The doctor replied.

* * *

Zelda's heart stopped in that moment. Despite Impa's insistence that she go ahead, the girl had chosen to lean against the hospital room door in order to hear what the doctor had said. No matter how bad she thought the news was, nothing could have prepared her for the thought that her father was assuredly going to die within a matter of days. She backed away as the door opened, Impa none the wiser as to what she had been doing.

"Come along Zelda." She said solemnly. "Let's get you some rest."

Despite all that she was worried for, Zelda soon fell to sleep upon returning to her room in the royal castle. But not before she made one last request of her loyal bodyguard.

"Please...don't let him die…"

If ever there was a time where Impa wished she were a great fairy of legend, it was then.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I know, I know. I can't even keep up a schedule for ONE story. How am I supposed to juggle two? That's gonna be my trick here. This story will serve mostly as a means of anti-burnout. Whenever I feel stuck with _Unlikely Four_ I'll come to this fic to write a lighthearted chapter or two. Whichever story I happen to finish first, the other will get my full attention then. But for now, how about a little guessing game? I based the premise off of a movie. Care to guess what movie it is?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"But you must act now! The King will die if you don't!"

Rusl pinched the bridge of his nose as he was being berated by the boy in front of him. "You think we don't want to act Link?" He responded despondently. "If it were up to us, we would do everything in our power to help him! But you know as well as I do what kind of fire we're all under now! With Cole's betrayal, the Royal Council is now under investigation. Until the special counsel has concluded that investigation, we are barred from any decision making."

"But this is King Harkinian's life we're talking about here!" The young man replied. "Surely an exception can be made for any attempt to save his life!"

"An attempt that another person like Cole could turn into regicide." The older councilman stated.

"He will die if you don't make a decisio-"

"He would die if we do make a decision Link!" Rusl cut him off. "Impa has been told that there is no antidote to Likelike poison. Anything we'd do would be a waste of taxpayer rupees." He said. He then stood up from his desk, and turned to the window in his office overlooking Castleton. "He is as much my dear friend as he is your beloved king, Link." Rusl explained solemnly. "If I could be the one sitting in that hospital bed, dying instead of him, I would." The man let out a sigh. "But there is nothing we can do Link. Even without the red tape, there would be nothing. I'm...I'm sorry." Before Link could carry the conversation further, a knock came from the office's door.

"Yo Link." A guard said as he poked his head into the room. "Break's over, we gotta be at our posts now." With that, the young man took one last look at Rusl before heading out of the room to join his partner.

* * *

"I could hear ya from out in the hallway you know." Link's partner said as they stood in the crowded lobby of the Council Building.

"I just...I mean...we can't just let him die Niko." Link responded. "He's King Harkinian! The finest ruler we've had in ages!"

"Heh, still got that swabbie idealism I see." Niko said with a dry chuckle. The young man seemed bored, constantly twirling his pistol in order to occupy himself.

"You shouldn't do that you know." Link chided. "As royal guardsmen we ought to be prepared for the worst to happen at any point."

"Page 610 in the handbook." Niko said. "I know the rules and regulations inside and out swabbie. But who's gonna try anything when security's been doubled with the King and all-" As if the goddesses were taunting Niko, a man burst into the lobby right then and there.

He flung open his jacket to reveal explosives strapped to his chest. "NOBODY MOVE!" He screamed out. "Unless my demands are met I shall arm this bom-" His tirade was cut off when a stunning beam nailed him right in the chest, paralyzing the man and rendering him incapable of harm. The astonished crowd in the lobby turned to see who had done it, and found Link holstering his own pistol while Niko trembled at his side.

Link made towards the stunned maniac. "Go back to your business everyone. The situation has been dealt with." He calmly assured the crowd. They eventually followed the order, though Niko had to deal with several people looking to get a shot with their cameras. When other guards eventually arrived to deal with the man, Link took his chance to gloat. "Told ya so." He taunted with a smirk, his partner only being able to huff in response.

"Lemme guess, one of those Yiga clowns?" Niko inquired, choosing to change the subject.

"Hit the nail right on the head. Probably took the King's illness as some kind of 'strike while the iron's hot' moment or something." Link responded.

"Damn lunatics…" Niko said, moreso to himself as he returned to his post.

"Well that's why we've got these." Link stated as he motioned to his pistol. "Thank the goddesses for the stun setting though. Don't have the stomach for killing."

"Yet you became a guard anyway, Mr. Hero." Niko said. "If you didn't want to deal with death ya probably should've chosen a different line of work."

Link smiled at his partner. "I've made it this far with a clean streak Niko, and I don't intend to stop anytime soon."

Niko smiled at Link. "Well as a fellow once told me…" he started, before puffing his chest out and taking on a comically nasally voice. "As royal guardsmen we ought to be prepared for the worst to happen at any point." The bad impression of Link brought a hearty laugh out of both of them, and for a bit Link was able to forget the dark cloud that hung over the kingdom.

* * *

It was late at night, and Impa once again found herself unable to rest. There was simply too much on her mind, too much to worry about, and too little she could do about it all. She lay in her bed, tossing and turning through the night until she had had enough. She threw the covers off of herself and decided to take a walk through the castle.

The moon shone brightly through the structure's many beautiful windows. Despite the build up of industrialization that had grown to form Castleton over the centuries, the castle itself seemed to remain frozen in time. Deemed to have historical significance long ago in Hyrule's history, the building's medieval architecture had been preserved through ages of royal families. Of course as technology evolved so too did some aspects of the castle. Electric lighting was placed throughout the structure, as were working pipes and all the like. But the beauty that visitors in ancient times beheld was still available for modern eyes. In a way it astounded Impa.

Not as much as the realization that someone was in the King's room did though.

Having let her mind wander to the castle's history, Impa's feet carried her aimlessly through the halls. They must've brought her near the King's room on instinct. It was there that she saw the door to the room cracked open ever so slightly, with muffled curses and shuffling papers being heard within. With the circumstances surrounding the past few days, Impa went into high alert as she approached the door quietly. The closer she crept, the clearer the voice became. Soon enough, Impa could make out who the mysterious voice belonged to, and she sighed. The noise alerted the room's intruder, as Impa heard the shuffling suddenly stop. The bodyguard opened the door and flicked on the lightswitch to confront the intruder.

"Zelda, what are you doing?"

The younger girl looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She sat stark still in a messy pile of folders and files that she had pulled from her father's cabinets. After a short while of awkward silence, Zelda let out an equally awkward chuckle.

"Just...um…" She paused, clearly searching for a way to save as much face in the situation as she possibly could. Impa raised her eyebrow, as if daring Zelda to find some insane way to justify what she was doing. The teenager's shoulders slumped as she resigned herself to explaining her motivations candidly. "The Time Warp Drive." She said simply.

Impa's eyes widened at hearing Zelda's words. "What? What would you want with…" She paused as the implications dawned on her. "No...tell me you're not-"

"I am." Zelda proclaimed. "Dad brought me in to that meeting remember? The royal scientists found a way to harness the Ocarina of Time's magic to allow a hovership to travel through time!" She then stood up in an attempt to emphasize her next point. "If we can't find the antidote to save Dad now, then we can use those blueprints to go back in time and find it there!"

Impa glared disapprovingly at her charge for a fair amount of time before taking in a deep breath as if to calm herself. "It would be faster to just get the prototype you know. Come on, I'll take you to it." The woman then turned to lead Zelda to where the Drive was being kept.

Zelda stood there with her mouth agape at the situation. "Wait. No scolding? No arguments? No talk about how this would be too dangerous for a princess to do?" She asked incredulously.

Impa looked over her shoulder before responding. "Tell me, even if I went through all of that, would you have listened?"

Zelda rolled her eyes. "Well of course no-"

"And would you have run off to put together some ragtag group of adventurers, some of them probably criminals, to use the Drive to go back in time to find the antidote in some crackpot attempt to save the King?" Impa inquired.

Zelda's cheeks flushed in embarrassment at having her exact plan laid bare before her, word for word. "W-well...uh…"

Impa gave a sly smirk. "Then it would be better for me to monitor the whole ordeal than let you kill yourself by trying to go under my nose. Besides…" Impa turned to fully face Zelda. "I've been charged with not letting the King die, have I not?" With that, Impa began to properly lead Zelda to where the prototype was being held.

As happy as could be at the turn of events, Zelda rushed after her.

* * *

 **A/N: **

**Actually tried to make my "lighthearted" story lighthearted this time around. Also, a hint for the guessing game: the title of the movie bares a resemblance to the title of the fic.**


End file.
